Talking Points

Bill O'Reilly: Does Benghazi really matter?

Many on the left are echoing Hillary Clinton's assertion that it doesn't really matter who screwed up security and reportage in Benghazi, Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON: The fact is we had four dead Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand.

CLINTON: Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they would go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Mrs. Clinton went on to say the important thing is that the killers be brought to justice and that kind of terror attack never happen again. But there is no question that the hearings yesterday were embarrassing for the Obama administration and for Hillary Clinton.

But immediately, the left-wing spin found its way into the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": And why Benghazi is generally emerged as a rallying cry for the President's opponents. When during the Bush administration, there were 54 attacks on diplomatic targets that killed 13 Americans. Yet, garnered only three hearings on embassy security total. And zero outrage on Fox.

So why is this attack so different for Republicans?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Well, here is the answer. Mr. Stewart referring to a study by the University of Maryland that pinpointed terror attacks from January of 2001 to December of 2008. But when you study the study, you find that many of the cited attacks occurred in Iraq during the war. And none of the attacks were at the level of Benghazi. Not even close.

It should also be noted that Jon Stewart apparently got his information from the far left web site Media Matters and "The Daily Kos."

But let's get back to the matter at hand. The most riveting testimony yesterday was delivered by Gregory Hicks second in command in Libya under the slain ambassador Christopher Stevens. Mr. Hicks described in vivid detail how he tried to get help for the Americans under siege in Benghazi but was not able to secure cooperation in Washington.

After showing his displeasure with that, Gregory Hicks was demoted by Hillary Clinton. And that is unacceptable. Honest government is the corner stone of our democracy. There is no question, no question the State Department screwed up in Libya and Mr. Hicks, by all indications, told the truth. And he was punished for doing that? Disgraceful.

Today Speaker of the House John Boehner said Congress would continue its investigation and Hillary Clinton certainly needs to come back to testify. Mrs. Clinton is up to her eyeballs in this.

Of course, that has political implications for the Democratic Party because she may very well run for president in 2016. The bottom line, Americans need to know the truth about what happened in Benghazi, why our government misled the world, and why they did not respond with more urgency on the day of the attack. We all need to know that.